THROUGH THE LENS: Why Vinyl? The Roots Music Lover’s Guide to Analog, Part 5

To paraphrase one of the The Godfather movies, just when I thought I was out of things to say about vinyl, I have been pulled back in by some important happenings since last year’s report. For your convenience, I’ve listed my previous columns on vinyl at the bottom of this post.

What follows are updates in the world of vinyl that affect roots music lovers all over. Specifically, we have seen an increased number of roots music albums of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s being reissued by some notable record labels. These reissues serve a dual purpose. First, they expose a new generation of fans to the great music that forms the basis of much of today’s music. Second, the labels below are committed to making the new pressings sound as good as they possibly can, with nearly all being audiophile quality.

Craft Recordings

Craft has made its name with its jazz reissues (e.g., Original Jazz Classics and Contemporary Records) that are among the very best-sounding records you can buy. Recently the label announced three reissues that roots music fans will surely drool over. First is Tony Rice’s Church Street Blues, set to drop on April 5. Originally released in 1983 on the Sugar Hill label, Kevin Gray remastered the original analog tapes, and RTI in California pressed the LPs. Both Gray and RTI are the best at what they do.

I had the opportunity to not only listen to the new Rice reissue but also compare it to an original pressing that a local shop has, priced at $200. The reissue is as close to perfection as you can get. Seven of the 11 tracks are just Rice and his guitar, the other four are with his brother Wyatt. You can hear the clean, distinct lines of Rice’s guitar playing and revel in the warmth, tenderness, and humility of his vocals. It blows the original away. If you are as big a fan of Rice as I am, this will be your album of the year. (An excerpt of an article from the Winter 2023 issue of No Depression featuring Rice and his prized guitar can be found here.)

Second, just two weeks ago Craft (in conjunction with Analogue Productions) announced a new blues reissue series, Bluesville. The first two albums are Skip James’ Today! (Vanguard 1966) and John Lee Hooker’s Burning Hell (Riverside 1964). But Craft broke that ice a few years ago with three other Hooker albums: Country Blues (1959), Burnin’ (1963) and The Healer (1989).

Craft also released last year’s well-received Nanci Griffith boxset Working in Corners that contains her four Philo/Rounder albums (ND story). With Craft having access to the Rounder, Sugar Hill, Vanguard, and Riverside catalogs, we should see some more fabulous roots reissues in the near future. The Craft reissues are also affordably priced.

Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) and Nonesuch

VMP is a subscription service, not a record company, and it licenses its releases from the original labels. It has also begun pressing its selections at its newly opened Colorado plant, Vinyl Media Pressings. Hopefully, this will correct the reported quality control issues that have plagued some of its recent offerings. VMP has also begun pressing some titles that have been out of print for awhile.

While VMP has diversified its records into genres far removed from roots music, roots music remains important. Last year it began a series of Dolly Parton albums and so far this year its selections have included first albums by both Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver; Willie Nelson’s neglected masterpiece, Phases & Stages; and Rodney Crowell’s classic The Houston Kid.

In conjunction with Nonesuch Records, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, VMP will offer selected records from that label’s catalog. Not to be outdone, Nonesuch, home of Emmylou Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, Molly Tuttle, and others, itself will reissue its own curated collection of LPs throughout 2024.

ORG Music: Westbound Records

Before there was alt-country, there was alt-soul. I’m talking about funk in the 1970s. ORG’s latest reissue series offers titles from Detroit-based Westbound Records, which was once at the center of the funk music world. Thus far there have only been three releases, albums by The Ohio Players and The Counts, and the most recent being the underrated Your Love Is My Desire by Eramus Hall. It is apparent to me that ORG is doing a deep dive into the Westbound catalog. Think of it as urban roots.

Half of this series’ appeal is having these records back in print, but more significantly, we will finally be able to get high-quality versions. Unfortunately, original pressings, if you can find them in good shape, are quite expensive and the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. High on everyone’s list is Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain. If you’ve been curious about funk and its significance I suggest you check out season two of Mike Judge Presents: Tales From the Tour Bus. Originally shown on the Cinemax cable channel, it can now be streamed, along with season one that focused on country music, on The Roku Channel and other services.

ORG also has two divergent releases for this spring’s Record Store Day: a Westbound sampler, Westbound Records Curated by RSD, Volume 1, and Ernest Tubb & His Texas Troubadours’ World Broadcast Recordings 1944/1945.

Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series  

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Atlantic Records, Analogue Productions has partnered with the label for a special reissue series. All the records have been remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on two 45 rpm LPs at Quality Records Pressing in Kansas. 

While most are rock records, some notable roots albums by John Prine, Willie Nelson, T Bone Walker, Dr. John, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and others are included. That quality comes at a price: $60 per 2 LP set. But, if your sound system is top notch, you will never hear those records any better.

Compact Discs

Vinyl still rules in physical media, but CD sales last year increased, albeit by a modest 2.7%. While part of that can, I think, be attributed to the desire to possess something tactile, quite a few new and improved CD players have recently hit the market. In short, CDs have never sounded so good, and better than streaming. What Hi-Fi? offers a good guide to new CD players on the market.

As a practical matter, you see many more CDs at merch tables than LPs, and there are some great roots music releases that are only available on CD. A prime example is the recent Song Keepers: A Music Maker Foundation Anthology that, in addition to a 143-page hardbound book, contains an 85 song, four-CD compilation of roots music. (The Music Maker Foundation co-published it with No Depression.) Among the many other CD-only releases are two nice ones by Craft: Doc Watson’s four-CD set Life’s Work: A Retrospective; and the two-CD set Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium.

Previous ‘Why Vinyl?’ columns

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Photos in the gallery below include many of the artists noted above along with others who are committed to releasing their work on vinyl. Click on any photo to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.